I’ve been eager to go to my nearest cat shelter and volunteer to socialise with the cats there for months and months. The nearest one was closed for refurbishment for ages, but the recently reopened, so a friend and I went today to spend some time with the cats they have in care. We were pointed in the direction of the neediest cats, and I started with this pair:

I can’t remember their names now, but they were very reticent to interact with me. The one of the left was very shy, but when I stroked him the one on the right got jealous and made a move to come towards me and ask for attention. After a while they did start to loosen up a bit, but it was hard going reaching into their hut. I’m never keen on invading a cat’s space like that – it’s a recipe for bites and scratches, so I decided to leave them to it. Later on, some other volunteers gave them more attention and apparently they started to open up a little.

Princess was only one day old when she arrived at the shelter and is now four months old. She’s never had a home – the shelter is all she knows. She wasn’t on our list of needy cats, as she was as friendly and adorable as you could wish. Once she’s done with her collar, I’m sure she’ll get snapped up really quickly.

I ended up spending most of my time with Shrove, a six month old tom who had some serious confidence problems.

When I first approached the pen, he hissed and swore at me, and cowered behind his bed. Again, I’m not keen on reaching in towards a cat in this frame of mind, so I spent some time just letting him get used to me being there, and not looking at him. Cats interpret eye contact as an act of domination or aggression, so it was important to look away. There were lots of toys already in his pen, so I picked up a “fishing rod” style toy, with a goldfish on the end, and started to play with him. He really didn’t want to know at first, but I dare any kitten to resist the lure of the fast-moving small object!

Once I got the goldfish flying, Shrove picked up enough courage to start to play with it, and came close enough that I could offer him my hand to check out. From then on, it was pretty much plain sailing. He started to trust me and soon was asking for – demanding, even – strokes.

All was going pretty well until some new volunteers came into the pen area, voices raised. Poor Shrove shot back into his hutch and cowered behind his bed. My suspicion is that he’d been in a household where he was shouted at a lot. He also has a small problem with inappropriate biting – that’s nothing serious that can’t be fixed with regular play with toys (keeping hands well out of the way!).

I left him to it for a bit and went to play with some of the other kitties, but when things had quietened down, I went in to see how he was getting on. He retreated a little, but I soon got him back out front, even on the floor this time instead of in his hutch, playing and purring and generally acting as a kitten should. I was most gratified when one of the shelter staff told me that this was the first time they’ve seen him come out and play!

Shrove would really suit a quite household, with no children, with people who are willing to spend a little time on overcoming his confidence issues. To be honest, if I could, I would have laid claim to him there and then!

It was much more rewarding than I had thought it would be. We ended up hanging out with the cats for a couple of hours, and I’m going to try to find time each week to visit them. I’m sure that the ones I saw will be rehomed soon, but if you like the look of them, contact North London Cats Protection.

The BBC has a piece on its website that purports to be about training cats, but in fact discusses nothing of the sort. It’s a two minute package which focuses mainly on cats being “mugged” with a brush as a pretense at grooming, and a discussion of trimming their claws (not declawing). Training strategies and techniques aren’t mentioned once.

I had thought that the piece would talk about operant conditioning and how you can use it, in the form of clicker training, to train pretty much any animal capable of learning. Instead, there are stupid questions about “Are you trying to turn cats into dogs?”, and some slightly odd ailuropolitical (see below) questions about whether cats should be kept inside or not.

If you really want to train a cat, you’re better of learning about clicker training, and understanding what rewards cats are interested in. (Unlike dogs, food treats don’t always cut it!) There are loads of videos on YouTube about cat clicker training, but here’s just one example:

Now, ok, I just made up the word “ailuropolitical”, from the Greek “ailouros”, meaning “cat” and “political”, derived from the Greek “polis”, meaning “state or city”. I’ve noticed that there really is a political aspect to certain discussions around cats in both the US and UK. For many, the way we treat cats is underpinned by a certain set of beliefs which are not based on either the reality of the world we live in, nor the biological and psychological needs of cats. Instead, they are based on quasi-philosophical notions of what cats should be, and the emotional reactions of people who are attracted to species often the target of cat predation.

I’ve heard people talk about, or sometimes just insinuate that, it’s wrong to train cats because it takes away their dignity. Cats have been worshiped for centuries, and modern worship tends to manifest itself in things like excessive treat giving. The idea that cats have the kind of dignity that can be damaged by teaching them to come to their name, sit on command or submit to grooming is, in my opinion, just another aspect of modern worship. It’s a philosophical stance that declares that cats are “free spirits” that “cannot be tamed” and should not be “shackled” – training is therefore an insult to the worshipper’s concept of freedom and independence. Perhaps people who think this way are living vicariously through their cat, enjoying freedoms they think denied them via their pet, and thus training is an indirect insult to them personally.

Then there’s the discussion about whether or not cats should be kept indoors or outdoors. This one is, in my opinion, very politically charged, and there are several different facets.

In the US, there is a movement that campaigns for more cats to be kept indoors. The American Bird Conservancy started the Cats Indoors! Campaign, and the main thrust of the argument seems to be that cats are non-native predators playing havoc with the small bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian populations. There are definite anti-cat undertones in the way I’ve seen this campaign discussed, with lots of posters urging people to keep their cats indoors, but with very little real advice for cat owners who want to do so.

Much of the rhetoric is familiar to me from my teens, when our nextdoor neighbour would rant about our cats, accusing them of “murdering” all the small birds in the neighbourhood. And it does get very political – with photos of cats eating birds, a lot of mentions about “educating” cat owners and links to “cat control ordinances”. If you wanted to be divisive, you could pick no better way to go about it.

I have no doubt that cats do catch and kill many small creatures that would otherwise go on to lead a full and happy life. Any ecosystem that has non-native predators introduced into it is going to suffer, but the anti-cat undertones will do little to make cat owners act to curtail their pet’s outdoors activities.

The US Humane Society’s view seems to be that cats should be kept indoors for their own safety. According to them, outdoors cats only live three years, a claim I’d like to see evidence for before I give it any credence at all. But whilst it is true that cats outdoors do face risks, such as being hit by traffic or attacks by other animals (cats, badgers, dogs in the UK, and anything from snakes to coyotes to eagles in the US), the indoors cat also faces risks. Obesity and diabetes are both serious problems for indoors cats. And as far as I can tell, the HSUS gives no solid advice on how to keep an indoors cat healthy, and however well-intentioned it is, it fails the very cats it’s trying to protect by not addressing the problems caused by indoors living.

I am very much in favour of indoors cats if, and only if, they are able to live in the right environment: one that is stimulating, provides sufficient exercise, and where they can engage in natural behaviours. This means thinking more about the cat’s surroundings than simply figuring out how to make sure they don’t escape.

At the end of the day, advice given to cat owners should be based on a sound understanding of cat biology and psychology, not on humans’ personal foibles, philosophies and prejudices.

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Ever since I first saw one, I’ve been lusting after a Roomba or Scooba – iRobot’s automatic hoovers and moppers. Not only would a robotic floor cleaner keep the floor clean, it would force us not to use it as a particularly large, albeit rather low, shelf. I’ve often thought about whether or not I could get one on a trip to the US, where they are (or at least, were) cheaper, but couldn’t figure out how to get it in my luggage.

Of course, when I see videos of cats riding Roombas, I want one even more. Sorry if that sounds dreadfully consumerist, but hell, I don’t own much so I think I’m allowed.

Ye gods, is that not just the cutest thing?

Then I got an email from Sam Johnston at Edelman with a press release?* about a new iRobot model, the Roomba Pet Series, which can apparently pick “more pet hair and dander with the help of higher capacity sweeper bins and additional accessories”. Of course, I am sure that Fflwff, Cassie and Polly would love to put the Pet Series to the test, so I asked for a “review unit”. Sadly, and I know you’re all gutted on my behalf, there wasn’t one available. I’ve apparently been put on a list, though!

I just hope that the Roomba Pet Series has been specially reinforced so that it can cope with the additional weight of unexpected passengers.

* Note for PR people: This does NOT mean that I suddenly want your junk in my inbox about cloning turtles. Remember: Cats, self-build or green build stuff only.

Los Angeles animal shelter network Found Animals has started Kitty Cam, a live stream showing seven of the cutest kittens on the planet (and certainly the most internet-savvy!). They’re all up for adoption so if you like the look of them and you’re in the area, go and see them. Just don’t blame me for hours lost to watching the bouncing balls of fluff being unutterably cute.

Climb all over us it would seem. Although it’s hard to say who’s keeping whom awake here…

Whilst I am on blogging “sick leave”, I have invited anyone who fancies it to write a guest blog post. If you’re interested in contributing a self-build, green or cat-related post, please email me! Meantime, many thanks to Amanda Hepburn for this contribution.

I have written for my local Cats Protection for over a year now and in that time, I have heard some pretty awful tales. Each season brings new challenges for the charity and the cats it looks after, and one of the most stressful times of the year is right now in the fireworks season.

Every year, Cats Protection receives numerous reports of lost pets that have been so frightened by fireworks they have run away. Not only that, the sudden, startling sights and sounds of fireworks can distress some cats to such an extent that they develop long-term behavioural problems.

Here are some ways to keep your cat safe and make them feel happier on nights when fireworks are in the air.

• Keep your cat inside after dark
• Provide a litter try inside if they are used to having garden access
• Reduce outside noise by closing your windows and curtains
• Mask the noise with soothing music or put the TV on
• Allow your cat to settle in a cosy, familiar spot
• Give them a toy that will engage their attention and act as a distraction
• Prevent your cat from running away by securing your doors, windows and cat flaps

If your cat does becomes anxious, resist the urge to comfort them as this can make them even more stressed. Let them settle in their chosen place and try to keep things as normal as possible. Your cat needs to feel that you are not worried.

Some of the cats that do run away are lucky enough to be found and looked after by cat charities. Of the cats that are found only a fraction have been microchipped, so no one knows where most of them belong.

A few months ago I posted a poll on www.toluna.com to gauge opinion on the contentious issue of microchipping. I asked: ‘Cat owners – is your cat microchipped?’. Of the 137 people who voted, the results were:

• Yes, 34%
• No – I don’t want to microchip my cat, 26%
• No – it’s too expensive, 17%
• I don’t know what this is, 9%
• I’m planning to get it done, 8%
• No – I don’t know where to get it done, 6%

The microchip, which is about the size of a grain of rice, is injected with sterile water just below your pet’s skin in the area between the shoulder blades. This injection takes seconds and is available from vets as well as some animal shelters. The chip is a passive device, which only transmits to a special hand-held scanner used by vets, animal welfare groups, the police and local authorities only when they need to discover where your cat belongs. All you need to do is remember to register the microchip so that your pet’s details go on to the nationwide database.

- Amanda Hepburn

What do you do if your indoors cat spurns the lovely scratching post you provided for their delight and entertainment? Deprived of a nice tree trunk or a fallen log, indoor cats are quick to find alternatives, but their idea of suitable may not be your idea of suitable! Fflwff, for example, prefers the carpet to the scratching post, and we’ve had other cats who’ve gone for the wallpaper, the corner of the sofa, or the doormat.

Cats don’t scratch to “sharpen their claws”, but to help shed old claws and reveal the fresh claw that has grown underneath, to exercise and stretch their paws and front quarters, and to spread their scent from glands under their front paws. They need a scratching post that meets their needs: it needs to be tall so they can stretch out, rugged so that it doesn’t come apart, stable so that it doesn’t tip over, and covered with a material that’s nice to scratch, such as sisal fabric.

Something like the Purrfect Post, which was developed by a cat vet might do the trick. Some cats, however, like to scratch horizontally, not vertically. A sisal mat can sometimes be a cheap solution, although there are posher versions available if you’re picky.

But what if, even after having bought the best designed scratching post or mat that you can, your moggie still turns her nose up and attacks the chaise longue? Well, declawing is not an option. It’s inhumane, involving as it does the amputation the last joint of the cat’s toes. It causes pain and suffering, not just after the operation, but possibly for the rest of the cat’s life. Indeed, it’s illegal or considered extremely inhumane in many European countries, including the United Kingdom.

If you are truly at your wits’ end, though, there’s always SoftPaws! These are vinyl nail caps that you glue to your cats claws which don’t harm the cat, but stop their claws snagging.

Thanks to .robbie

I love the way that the SoftPaws site says that:

Soft Paws® are easy to apply. Simply fill the nail cap with the adhesive provided and slide it on over your cat’s claw. The glue dries very fast.

They must be using a different definition of “easy” because I’m pretty sure that getting them onto Fflwff’s pointy bits would prove to be an interesting, and bloodsoaked, task. They later on say “If you can trim your cat’s claws, you can apply the nail caps.” Big if.

Still, as least the fashion-conscious cat will be happy to hear that the caps come in a variety of colours, including the classic white:

Thanks to Gossamer1013
SoftPaws should only be used on indoors cats. Kitties that roam the neighbourhood need a full set of working, i.e. sharp, claws so that they can defend themselves in a pinch and make sharp exits up vertical surfaces should they need to. Thankfully, this excludes Fflwff from the pool of potential SoftPaws users, which means I’ll never have to test my theory about how hard they’d be to put on!